Special Friday Review of The Great Book: Sitcoms of Norman Lear by Sean Campbell

Friday, November 24, 2006

Special Friday Review of The Great Book: Sitcoms of Norman Lear by Sean Campbell

Welcome to a special "Black Friday" edition of mini-reviews. Today on Black Friday, we will give you a bargain. A review of a great book that looks at the classic sitcoms of legendary producer Norman Lear. We have given you a few news items on the blog on this book before, so I'm sure some of you are familiar with it already. 17-year-old Sean Campbell has written a truly wonderful book and now skees53 has a review for us on The Sitcoms of Norman Lear:

The Sitcoms of Norman Lear by Sean Campbell

The Sitcoms of Norman Lear (McFarland, $35) is exactly what it sounds like--a book about the sitcoms of one Norman Lear, the man that changed television forever. Written by Sean Campbell, the book isn't just typical fluff; instead, it is a rather complete history of the successes (and sometimes even failures, believe it or not) of the television mogul and never casts any important details aside as being insignificant.
The book follows Lear's career from just before the days the hit sitcom All in the Family premiered on CBS, and covers all of his other major successes from the 1970s, including Sanford & Son, Maude, Good Times, The Jeffersons, and One Day at a Time. Not a detail is missing about these shows. In fact, there is a chapter for each one of these shows and includes all of the details of the shows (as well as a chapter dealing with the failures of Lear, even if it is hard to believe that a genius such as Lear could have any failures!), much like an E! True Hollywood Story, including the good things and the bad things that happened on the set. The book extensively covers the background of the show (such as what was going on in the world at the time of the show and how that may have influenced the show), the lives and attitudes of those involved with the show, the important episodes of the shows, and even how these sitcoms have changed the world (and television) into the 21st century. Whether it be Norman Lear writing an episode of All in the Family where Archie dies or CBS demanding that 26 lines be removed from the first episode of One Day at a Time, none of the important details are missing. Everything is well-researched too, with literally hundreds of citations from resources such as articles (from newspapers, magazines, and journals), statistics derived from opinion polls, books, interviews, and of course one of the best primary sources of all--the episodes of the sitcoms of Norman Lear!
The level of coverage varies for each show (All in the Family and Good Times seem to have the most extensive coverage, but that makes sense, because one All in the Family was the show that started it all and Good Times is a pop-culture legend in its own right), but regardless, each and every show seems to be covered rather thoroughly and this book is a must-own for anybody that appreciates the greatest sitcoms of all-time!
-- Reviewed by skees53

(5/5 stars)

To purchase the DVD, click below and help support SitcomsOnline.com:
Amazon.com

Related links:
Official Website of The Sitcoms of Norman Lear by Sean Campbell

Sitcoms Airing Tonight / Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows

Wednesday, May 28

Tyler Perry's House of Payne - "House of Tough Decisions" (BET, 9:00PM ET/PT)
House of Payne is the hilarious comedy about Retired fire chief Curtis Payne and his lovely wife Ella.

Tyler Perry's Assisted Living - "Parental Woes" (BET, 9:30PM ET/PT)
Tension escalates as tempers flare between Reginald and Brandon's rocky relationship; Leah's disconnect with Sandra leaves her terribly confused.

The Ms. Pat Show - "Pick Up Your Feelings" (BET, 10:30PM ET/PT)
The family arrives in Atlanta to find Pat's cousin and former partner in crime, Tanya, has been released from prison, which leads to a difficult walk down memory lane.

Complete TV Listings

Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of May 26)

Wednesday, May 28

Ryan Reynolds (Two Guys and a Girl) - Watch Ryan on a repeat of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert at 11:35pm on CBS.
Tiffany Haddish (The Last O.G./The Carmichael Show) - Tiffany is a guest on a repeat of Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
Leslie Bibb (Palm Royale/God's Favorite Idiot/American Housewife/The Odd Couple/About a Boy) - Leslie appears on a repeat of Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
Esther Povitsky (Dollface/Alone Together) and Arden Myrin (Working/Still the King) - Esther and Arden are guests on a repeat of After Midnight at 12:37am on CBS.
Joe Mande (Hacks/Parks and Recreation) and Fred Armisen (Los Espookys/Forever/Final Space) - Joe and Fred are guests on Everybody's Live with John Mulaney at 10pm on Netflix.
Felicity Huffman (Sports Night) - Felicity talks about The 13th Wife: Escaping Polygamy on ABC's Good Morning America sometime between 7-9am.
Julianne Moore (Sirens) - Julianne chats with the ladies of The View on ABC at 11am ET/10am CT-PT.
Sarah Silverman (The Sarah Silverman Program) - Sarah talks about her special Sarah Silverman: PostMortem on NBC's Today sometime between 7-9am and on Live with Kelly and Mark, so check your local listings.
Ashley Tisdale (Carol's Second Act/Merry Happy Whatever/Clipped/The Suite Life of Zack & Cody) - Ashley stops by the studio to talk Disney's Phineas and Ferb on Live with Kelly and Mark, so check your local listings. She also chats with the ladies of The View on ABC at 11am ET/10am CT-PT.
Ming-Na Wen (The Single Guy) - NBC's Today catches up with Ming-Na in the 9am hour.
Ralph Macchio (Eight Is Enough) - Ralph talks about ABC's Good Morning America sometime between 7-9am.
Demi Lovato (Sonny with a Chance) - Drew is having a candid conversation with Demi about how growing up in the spotlight inspired her new documentary Child Star on a repeat of The Drew Barrymore Show, so check your local listings.
Jenny McCarthy (Two and a Half Men/Jenny) - Jenny talks about Fox's The Masked Singer on Access Daily with Mario & Kit, so check your local listings.
Carrie Preston (Crowded/Happyish/Emeril) and Wendell Pierce (The Odd Couple/The Michael J. Fox Show/The Weber/The Brian Benben Show/The Gregory Hines Show) - Carrie and Wendell talk about CBS' Elsbeth on a repeat of Access Daily with Mario & Kit, so check your local listings.